Johannesburg, 18 Jun 2009
It`s official - the economy is in a recession. While a worrying fact for many businesses, others are looking at sharpening their focus and producing solutions that are in demand by a market that has a serious case of the jitters. And that means solutions that require low capital outlay, provide substantial benefit and deliver the edge against heightened competition.
One such company is the i5 Group, a top-performing Microsoft Gold partner, which has twice won Partner of the Year accolades from the vendor. Led by entrepreneur Glen Ansell, the organisation`s specialisation in customer relationship management (CRM) and business intelligence (BI) solutions positions it well to continue brisk trade in the recession.
Ansell explains why: "Recession is bad, but the plane has not flown into the mountain. Businesses continue to require software solutions that support their drive to operate efficiently - and in a recession, competition becomes heightened as the customer base contracts," he says.
As a result, says Ansell, company directors will be looking to enhance the ability of their organisation to find, satisfy and retain customers. "That means those organisations that haven`t yet considered BI or CRM solutions, really should be. More than ever, it is becoming imperative to have insights into what the market is doing and how your company is positioned to respond. More than ever, customers have become gold and maintaining good relationships with them is crucial," he says.
In terms of BI, Ansell says the focus has switched from long-term, strategic insight to tactical or operational insight. "The market is mercurial. We went from boom to bust practically overnight. The ability to take rapid action is therefore recognised as essential in unpredictable times," he notes.
Additionally, Ansell believes there is a bright future for Microsoft Office Communications Server, which delivers fully integrated converged communications for improved collaboration. i5 has, therefore, invested in certification on the solution and is ready to take it to market.
Agreeing that the outlay for a shiny new Microsoft BI or CRM solution can be a bitter pill to swallow, especially for directors reluctant to deplete cash reserves, Ansell plays a trump card. "The notion of software as a service, in terms of which these solutions are hosted by i5 and provided as a `pay per use` service, plays directly into the recession zeitgeist. It provides a risk-free opportunity for company directors to evaluate the relevance and value of such solutions to their organisation," he explains.
Over 18 months ago, says Ansell, i5 recognised the trend and began investment in the ability to provide SaaS solutions. "Demand for SaaS is growing phenomenally. Hosted services are a lot more attractive through the zero capital outlay and the ability to evaluate `high end` solutions with little or no risk."
For its part, Ansell says i5 is not unaffected by the recession. "As a company, we have consolidated over the last year and have geared ourselves for growth; I have again taken over the day-to-day management of the company, with the intention to improve delivery capability, especially around our SaaS solutions. The recession is biting, but with the right solutions and the right approach to this market, opportunity has by no means disappeared," he concludes.
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